Ricoh
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 6 sources
Tokyo company selling office printers and copiers.
Until Ricoh traces its cobalt, gold and tin to the mine, it can't show that the miners who dig them are safe or fairly paid.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 3 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It relies on high-risk mined materials it can't trace. That alone means a poor grade until it takes steps to trace them.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour, last recorded in 2020) has been put right.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
- Checks its own supply chain. Ricoh looks for problems in its own supply chain and publishes what it finds. It found forced labour in 2020 and a labour rights breach in 2023 and is fixing them, so they don't count against the grade. They're listed below under Confirmed issues.
Good requirements 3 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsJudged on where its products are made: worker rights are poorly protected in China, Thailand and Vietnam.
- Met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings it isn't fixingIts own checks found forced labour, which it is fixing. That's listed below and doesn't count against the grade.
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Not met: Traces its cobalt, gold and other conflict minerals to the mine
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Relies on high-risk mined materials it can't trace
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From Ricoh's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories. Its list covers only part of its range. The rest is shown as where electronics are usually made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Japan | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Thailand | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| TaiwanUsual for the industry | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| MalaysiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| South KoreaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: cobalt, tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold mining carry child and forced labour risk (DR Congo, Indonesia), and assembly overtime is widespread.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Modern slavery statement
- Independent social audits of all its main factories
- Relies on metals such as cobalt, gold and tin from artisanal mines where miners, including children, face toxic dust, mercury exposure and deadly tunnel collapses. It hasn't shown any steps to trace these materials to the mine, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes Ricoh makes most of its products in its own group factories in Japan, China and Thailand; its modern slavery statement names five major production sites but gives no output split. It joined the RBA in 2019, has major sites independently audited every two years (all five re-audited sites certified, Thailand at Gold) and reports a refunded recruitment fee case in China. It does not publish a supplier list, and 62% of identified 3TG smelters were RMAP-conformant in 2024. Living wages are named as a risk, but there is no living wage commitment. Shares are left unstated; the 53/37/9% split in the statement is of suppliers, not output.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Ricoh Australia's FY2024-25 Modern Slavery Statement reports RBA audits of Ricoh production sites, a refunded recruitment fee case in China and supplier assessments. View |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | Ricoh UK Products publishes a Modern Slavery Act transparency statement. View |
| Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report | Listed | Not in the latest report; Baptist World Aid's Electronics Industry Report ended in 2016, when Ricoh was graded in the B band. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Records Ricoh's 2019 response on recruitment fees at an electronics supplier in Thailand. View |
Confirmed issues 2
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Ricoh reported that its Thai production site required pre-employment pregnancy checks for some female workers, a discriminatory practice, until 2023 (Ricoh Australia Modern Slavery Statement, 2025). Source · search the archiveFound and being fixed by the company Not counted against the grade while the company is actively fixing it, because it found and published it itself. | PartlyRicoh stopped the pregnancy checks in 2023; no remedy for affected women is reported. |
| 2020 | An RBA audit of a Ricoh production site in China found labour agencies had charged workers part of their recruitment fees (Ricoh Australia Modern Slavery Statement, 2025). Source · search the archiveFound and being fixed by the company Not counted against the grade while the company is actively fixing it, because it found and published it itself. | YesThe site refunded the fees to workers and Ricoh banned labour agencies from charging them; no further cases confirmed since. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- Ricoh was among the electronics brands asked to respond to Electronics Watch findings on recruitment fees at Cal-Comp in Thailand; it did not confirm a sourcing link but pledged to work with its Thai suppliers (BHRRC, 2019). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 6
Show all 6 sources
- Ricoh's response (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2019) · search the archive · Ricoh pledged to work with Thai suppliers after Electronics Watch report on recruitment fees
- Thailand: NGOs allege recruitment fees at supplier to global electronics brands (BHRRC) · search the archive · Ricoh among brands contacted about Cal-Comp; no confirmed sourcing link stated
- 2016 Electronics Industry Trends (Baptist World Aid Australia) · search the archive · Last edition (2016); Ricoh in the B band
- Ricoh GR IIIx digital camera (BuyWisely) · search the archive · Ricoh cameras sold online in Australia by Amazon AU, Kogan, Mighty Ape and others
Published by Ricoh or its owner
- Ricoh Australia Modern Slavery Statement 2024-25 · search the archive · Group plants in Japan, China, Thailand; RBA since 2019; VAP audits; fees refunded (China 2020); pregnancy checks stopped 2023; 78,665 staff
- Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement (Ricoh UK Products) · search the archive · Ricoh UK Products publishes a UK modern slavery statement
Company details
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Employees
- About 78,665
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Ricoh ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/ricoh, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded laptops and computers
No laptops and computers brand selling new goods is Good yet. This is the strongest so far. Second-hand and refurbished goods create no new factory work, so they're Good by rule and come first.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Ricoh.